Some new 2019 XLE AWD-e thoughts

I've now had our new XLE AWD-e (Electric Storm Blue/Moonstone) for a couple of days.

Definitely like it (though keep in mind my comparison points are a 2004 Prius and a 2011 Forester ). I like how it drives (especially in comparison to the 2019 Camry I had to rent for a week before picking up the new Prius -- what a boat) and it is noticeably more efficient than the 2004 (one would hope, I guess).

I'm still fooling around with some of the driver assist stuff. Is there some secret to noticing the steering assist when LDA activates? I definitely have assist turned on, but neither my wife nor I can feel anything in the wheel when the system activates.

I also for kicks tried out the "backing in" parking assist. (I'll try out parallel the next time I need to parallel park). It was kinda frustrating because the car would either say "no space available" (which I don't understand, since I was in the position the manual says you're supposed to be in) or, when it activated, would take me too close to another row of cars while trying to position my car for the space and I had to cancel out. Related to that, when you're driving between two rows of cars, how do you tell it which side to look for when doing "backing in" assist? I tried using the turn signal as a hint, but it didn't seem to matter.

Could someone explain the "Hybrid System Status" display on the dash? The one that shows the Charge, EV, Eco, and Power zones and shows both a sharply outlined bar that shows (presumably) what the car is doing and an unoutlined blue bar that shows...what? The manual says it's the "accelerator guide" but doesn't say much else about it.

I have purchased a Carista and already used it to change the reverse beep to a single beep and to activate the "long press on remote opens all windows". I think I'll next use it to turn down the volume of some of the parking-related pings, especially the one when you're getting to close to stuff. Any other suggestions for things worth changing? (Tangentially, can the Carista ODB2 dongle be connected to non-Carista iOS apps, such as Car Scanner ELM ODB2 or ODB Fusion? Or will it only talk to the Carista app?)

The only things (so far) that I truly don't like about the car are the miniscule glovebox and the lack of a spare.

I'm disappointed (though I knew upfront) that it does not have a power driver's seat. (Why is that? The FWD XLE does). Also a bit disappointed that the radio does not have HD Radio (looks like most Toyotas don't) as there a bunch of HD stations we enjoy on the Forester. I'm also annoyed that the hatchback area is an inch or two smaller than on the 2004 (we measured them both). Road noise is also a bit more than I was hoping for. I also wish there was another 12V plug and that the wireless charger (which is nice!) charged faster, though I imagine that's a limitation of the charging technology.

Finally, any tips for people new to this model (or a Gen4 in general)?

 

Oh, one other thing. I generally do not get extended warranties and did not get one with this car. However, I'm wondering what people's Gen4 experiences have been? Is the extended warranty something to think about getting? Or continue not to bother?

 

I'm also a little down on the sound system, too. Both my 2004 Prius (which had the premium sound system of its day) and my 2011 Forester (which has the baseline sound system) sound better. I've tried messing around with the equalizer and that has helped a little, but oh well.

Still loving how it drives, though, which is the main thing alongside the good milage.

 

Thanks. And I was just reviewing the Toyota brochure on it and it says the hybrid components are warrantied for 8/100,000.